CULTIVATING VISUAL LITERACY
IN THE STEM CLASSROOM
2015 Georgia STEM Forum
Joannah Shoushtarian @jshoushtar4stem
King Springs Elementary School
Cobb County School District
Nadia Williams @MsWillipedia
Digital Transformation Coach
Cobb County School District
A LITTLE ABOUT OURSELVES

Joannah Shoushtarian

Nadia Williams

24 Years in the Classroom


STEM Teacher
8th Year Educator (7 in the
Classroom)

King Springs ES

Digital Transformation
Coach

Cobb County School District

Cobb County School District
ORIGINS OF THIS
COLLABORATION

STEM Talks competition

Joannah had a desire to add more to her
teacher toolbox

Creation of the CCSD Digital and Multimedia
Learning Department and its goals

Tie-in with literacy and other subjects (i.e. the
Humanities)
THE LESSON ITSELF

Through a series of lessons, the students were first
introduced to the relevance of producing a story
as a video versus in writing, then they
brainstormed, and eventually created their own
narratives showing how STEM was preparing
them for the future.

A few young ladies identified that this series of
lessons made them understand writing better.
THE LESSON PLANNING PROCESS

Insert lesson plan here
LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION

The students were shown the
video as a hook.

They were then asked to listen
to a written version of the
story read aloud.

The students discussed how
each story delivery method
changed how they
interacted with the story.

This served to illustrate how
the way a story is presented
changes how we understand
that story.
Piggy Gets a Warm Bath (video)
Piggy Gets a Warm Bath
(written)
The Story of Piglet and a
Warm Bath
Once there was a mother pig who
had many piglets. All the pigs were
hungry, but one little pig was left
out and was very cold. The farmer
saw the piglet crying and made a
warm bath for the baby pig. Once
the pig was placed into the water,
he was happy and warm once
more.

The students were asked to
identify what they HEARD,
SAW, and could SAY about
the two different stories.

They were provided with a
graphic organizer that was
able to be used with grades
2-5.
LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION (PART 2)

Graphic Organizer
LESSON 2: BRAINSTORMING & PLANNING
STEM Talk


For the second lesson, the
students brainstormed the
ways in which STEM was
important to them.
They were then directed to
share how they see STEM
helping them in the future.

ANYTHING they learned in
STEM was fair game!
Literacy Tie-In


Textual:

The students practiced
brainstorming, sequencing
ideas, transition words, and
“showing” not “telling.”

Character development
using TED Talk on boy with
progeria.
Visual:

The students practiced
decreasing visual “noise”
that could distract a viewer.
PLANNING
GRAPHIC
ORGANIZERS
STEM TALK STEPS
AND
BRAINSTORMING
PLANNING
GRAPHIC
ORGANIZERS
STUDENT CHECK
OFF SHEET
LESSON 3: PLANNING & RECORDING

STEM Talk

Literacy Tie-In

The students finished
planning their talks in
writing.

Textual:
Before they could begin
recording, the students had
to have a peer read their
work and initial their check
off sheet.



The students practiced
peer editing.
Visual:

The students practiced
sequencing through a
simple version of
storyboarding.
“STEM IS MY FUTURE” BY SOPHIA
Q & A SESSION
We
welcome
your
questions
about our
process, etc.
SWAY OR TOUCHAST PLAY ON
IPADS

You are invited to use any one of
the four iPad Minis we have to play
with the TouchCast app.

Otherwise, you are welcomed to
visit the Sway created to document
the process of this series of lessons
by visiting the QR code below.

You can also go to
www.MsWillipedia.com. Select
“Professional Development” and
then “Georgia STEM Forum.”